Container with internal hinge arrangement

ABSTRACT

A container comprises two case bodies and an internal hinge arrangement which comprises two sockets holders formed on the two hinging edges of the case bodies and a hinge connector comprising a protective cover and two axis shafts provided for inserting into the socket holders, so as to form two pivot axles along the hinging edges of the case bodies, such that the two case bodies are pivotally connected together. The internal hinge arrangement provides a secure folded position to the case bodies of the container because the hinge connector is not visible or reachable when the container is in a folded position. The internal hinge arrangement provides a double axial folding and unfolding motion of the container, such that an unfolding angle between the container and the container cover can reach to at least 180°, providing a higher durability to the internal hinge arrangement and the container. By incorporating an angle retention arrangement to the internal hinge arrangement, the largest unfolding angle of the two case bodies can be limited. The angle retention arrangement can also control the folding and unfolding motion of the case bodies, assisting the user to use less energy to open up the case bodies.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a hinge, and more particularly to ahidden internal hinge connector that holds two hinge pieces together,such that the hinge pieces unfold and fold in a dual-axial manner, suchthat a secured folded position of two hinge pieces is providedinternally, and an unfolded position between 0° to at least 180° degreesbetween the two hinges is allowed.

2. Description of Related Arts

Hinges, in general, are used to securely hold two things together. Someexamples of uses of hinges are: door hinges used for mounting a dooronto a wall of a room such that things placed within the room isprotected, container hinges used for mounting a container cover to acontainer such that the contents in the container can be protected bythe container.

Throughout the years, people has been working on how to reinforcehinges, so as to make stronger and more durable containers, and securedoors, such that things put within the containers or the room can beprotected. A lot of such effort went to improving the material used tomake such hinges. However, as many people has noticed, materialenhancement is not very helpful in creating strong protection for thingsstored in the containers and room and so forth simply because as long asthe hinges are off, the containers and doors can be unfolded.

Hence, no matter how strong the material of the hinge is, doors andcontainers supplied with such hinge cannot protect things stored behindthe doors or inside the containers as well as they were thought to be.

And, as conventional hinges are on an external surface of such doors andcontainers, they protrude from the doors or containers. Hence, they arevery prone to being damaged when they were in storage or in transit.

When a hinge as such is applied to a container such as a gift container,in order to facilitate the unfolding and closing of the container, whilethe container is in an unfolded position, there is a noticeable gapbetween the container hinge connection end and the cover hingeconnection end, affecting the overall presentation of the giftcontainer. As a result, people use different methods to hide the gap andthe hinge, such as placing a piece of cloth across the container and thecover at the hinge area.

Also, because a hinge has to be attached to the container, as well asthe cover in order to connect the container with the hinge, a containerwith a conventional hinge would have a container, a container cover, atleast a hinge to connect the container and the container cover together,and each hinge would at least need two connectors such as screws to beattached to both the container and the container cover. Such containershave a lot of small elements, which make the manufacturing of partsdifficult and complicate the assembly of the container.

And as the hinges connect the container with the container cover on theexterior of the container, the unfolding angle of the container islimited by the hinge, such that the container cover cannot be unfoldedto a full 180°: the larger the hinge, the greater the hindrance of theunfolding angle. With the hindrance of unfolding angle of the hinge,such containers are easily damaged when the user over flip the cover ofthe container, which usually would pull the screws out, detaching thehinge from the container and the cover of the container.

Furthermore, conventional hinges do not provide the users with unfoldingangle controlling power, such that the container can either in a foldedposition or a fully unfolding position.

In view of the above drawbacks of and the problems brought on byconventional hinges, a better hinge has to be provided so as to not onlyprovide better security to the things stored inside the container orroom, but also better durability, presentation appearance, fewerelements, easier assembly, better unfolding angle and control.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

A main object of the present invention is to provide a container,comprises a two case bodies, and an internal hinge arrangement, whichhas two socket holders and a hinge connector, such that the two casebodies are connected by the internal hinge arrangement, and protectingthe connection between the case bodies.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container,wherein when the two case bodies are locked together from the interiorof the container, as oppose to being conventional containers, and thehinge connector cannot be reached when the case bodies are in a foldedposition, such that the container cannot be easily pried open.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container,wherein the case bodies can fully unfold to at least 180°, so as toprovide a better display of the contents within the container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container,wherein the internal hinge arrangement does not protrude beyond theexterior of the container, such that the hinge is not easily damaged,which in turn would make a container with such hinge less prone todamages.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container,wherein the internal hinge arrangement does not occupy any storingspace, so as to minimize storage space and lower cost. Also, suchinternal hinge arrangement will less likely be damaged while beingstored or transported since it does not protrude beyond the boundary ofthe container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container,wherein when the hinge connector connects the case bodies together,there are no visible gaps between the two longitudinal edges of the twocase bodies, providing a better appearance and durability to theinternal hinge arrangement as well as the container, since the containercannot be pried open as easy as conventional containers.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container,wherein the internal hinge arrangement has a protective cover to protectand cover up the connection of the case bodies and the internal hingearrangement, such that when made into a gift container, the containerdoes not require any extra inner linings to hide the internal hingearrangement to provide a better presentation of the gift container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container,wherein the internal hinge arrangement is part of the container, suchthat when being unfolded or folded, the two case bodies always rotatealong axes that are within the container, such that the case bodies canalways match with each other under the folded position, as oppose toconvention hinges, which could easily be wrongly installed to thecontainer and the container cover, such that many container covers arenot properly aligned with the container, affecting the appearance andthe durability of the container.

Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the presentinvention provides a container, comprising:

two case bodies, each having a longitudinal hinging edge; and

an internal hinge arrangement, which comprises:

two socket holders formed on the two hinging edges of the case bodiesrespectively; and

a hinge connector comprising a protective cover covering along the twohinging edges of the case bodies and two axis shafts spacedly extendedalong longitudinal edges of the protective cover, wherein the two axisshafts are rotatably inserted into the socket holders to form two pivotaxles along the hinging edges of the case bodies respectively so as topivotally connect the two case bodies.

These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed description,the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container according to the preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the container according to the abovepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the internal hinge arrangement accordingto the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the socket holder of the internal hingearrangement according to the above preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the container according to the abovepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the container in an unfoldedposition according to the above preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a container according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, whereinthe container comprises two case bodies 10, and an internal hingearrangement 20.

Referring to FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 of the drawings, internal hingearrangement 20 comprises two socket holders 21 and a hinge connector 22.In order to fit the hinge arrangement 20 onto the two case bodies 10,each of the case bodies has a longitudinal hinging edge 11, provided forthe two socket holders 21 of the internal hinge arrangement 20 to formthereon respectively.

It should be noted that the two case bodies 10 can be identical ordifferent. They can differ in shape, size and depth, so long as theirtwo socket holders 21 can be formed on the longitudinal hinging edges 11respectively. Also, the container can be as small as a gift container,to a safe, and even a room, where one of the case bodies 10 isessentially a door. It can easily be seen that the internal hingearrangement 20 can be applied to containers of any sizes as long asthere are longitudinal hinging edges 11 formed on the case bodiesrespectively.

The hinge connector 22 of the hinge arrangement 20 comprises aprotective cover 221 and two axis shafts 222. The two axis shafts 222are spacedly extended along longitudinal edges 2211 of the protectivecover 221 and are used for rotatably inserted into the socket holders 21of the hinge arrangement 20, in such a manner that the protective cover221 covers up the two hinging edges 11, so as to hide the socket holders21 of the hinge arrangement and the two axis shafts 222.

The protective cover 221 has the advantages of protecting the axisshafts 222, hinging edges 11 and socket holders 21 from being reachedand tempered with by the users, and also being decorative, such that themechanical parts of the container is not shown, especially when thecontainer is to be used as a gift box. The protective cover 221 hencenot only provides better protection to the container, but also enhancesthe appearance and presentation of the container.

Referring to FIG. 5 of the drawings, when the two shafts 222 arerotatably inserted into the socket holders 21, two pivot axles 224 areformed along the hinging edges 11 of the case bodies 10 respectively, soas to pivotally connect the two case bodies 10. By inserting the shafts222 into the socket holders 21, the two case bodies 10 are both securelyconnected to the hinge connector 22.

As can be seen, the two case bodies 10 are now connected by the hingearrangement 20 double-axially such that, each of the two case bodies 10can rotate along the axis shafts respectively in order to unfold up thecontainer. The case bodies 10 can also rotate along the axis shafts,thereby unfolding the container, simultaneously, such that time andenergy are saved while unfolding the container. As oppose to containershaving conventional external hinges, a user has to use one hand to holdtight onto one of the case bodies while the other hand unfolds the othercase body.

Referring to FIG. 6 of the drawings, because of the double-axialcharacteristic of the present invention, the two case bodies 10 canunfold from a folded position to an unfolded position where an unfoldingangle 5 between the two case bodies varies from 0° to at least 180°. Thereason is that when the two case bodies 10 unfold, because the internalhinge arrangement 20 is within a container cavity 30, the internal hingearrangement 20 does not go in between the two unfolding case bodies 10,but is actually revealed during the process.

And because of the unfolding properties of the container incorporatedwith the internal hinge arrangement, viewing of the contents inside thecontainer is more convenient, as oppose to a container with aconventional hinge, where the cover always shade up the cavity of thecontainer, limiting viewing, as well as access to the contents withinthe container.

The internal hinge arrangement 20 hence will not hinder the unfolding ofthe two case bodies 10. And, the container will not be easily damaged byover turning the two case bodies 10. As a result, the container havingsuch an internal hinge arrangement 20 has a greater durability than thathaving a conventional hinge.

It is also worth mentioning that because the internal hinge arrangement20 is all contained by the container when the container is in a foldedposition. Such that the internal hinge arrangement 20 is actuallyprotected by the two case bodies 10 when the container is in a foldedposition.

As a result, the internal hinge arrangement 20 cannot be reached ortempered with as long as the two case bodies 10 are in the foldedposition. This eliminates the weakness of a container equipped with aconventional hinge, where the container would easily be pried openthrough the hinge, simply because the hinge is exposed. Containersincorporated with the internal hinge arrangement 20 are therefore lessprone to damages and are more sturdy and durable.

As an example, if the present invention is being incorporated with asafe, where the safe would usually have a lock to secure the openingedges together, when the safe is locked, the internal hinge arrangement20 will no way be reached, and leaving the only place an unauthorizedperson can pry open the safe is the lock. This eliminated one huge areawhere an unauthorized person could work on with safes, better protectingcontents inside the container according to the present invention.

It is also worth mentioning that, because the hinge arrangement 20 underthe present invention is provided on the container internally, there areno parts protruding beyond the boundaries set by the two case bodies 10.This provides the advantages of neat stacking, and minimizing wastedstorage spaces. Also, since the hinges are not exposed, they will not beeasily damaged during storage and transportations processes, as in thecase of containers incorporated with conventional hinges.

Referring FIG. 2 of the drawings, according to the preferred embodimentof the present invention, each of the socket holders 21 of the internalhinge arrangement 20 has two tubular sockets 211 integrally formed attwo side ends of each of the hinging edges 11, wherein the two tubularsockets 211 are provided for the two end portions of each of the axisshafts 222 to slidably inserted into, so as to form the pivot axle 224along the respective hinging edge 11 of the case body 10.

The two tubular sockets 211 being integrally formed at the two side ends111 of the hinging edges 11 means that there are no linkages orconnections between the side ends 111 and the sockets 211, such thatthere are less weaknesses on the container, such that the container ismore durable and less likely to be damaged by people or by otherobjects.

The two tubular sockets 211 help to ensure that the shafts 222 of thehinge connector 22 are securely held by the socket holders 21 on thecase bodies 10, making sure that any force exerted on to the case bodies10 are equally shared by the two respective socket holders 21.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, each ofthe axis shafts 222 comprises a tubular sleeve 2222 and an elongatedshaft 2223, wherein the elongated shaft 2223 is extended to the socketholder 21 through the tubular sleeve 2222 so as to pivotally connect theprotective cover 221 with the respective case body 10.

And since the elongated shaft 2223 is slidably extended along thelongitudinal edge 11 of the protective cover 221, the elongated shaft2223 is coaxially aligned with the socket holders 21. By ensuring thatthe elongated shaft 2223 is coaxially aligned with the socket holders21, the two case bodies 10 will be able to fold and unfold smoothly.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 of the drawings, in order to protect thetwo pivot axles 224 and for enhancing the appearance of the container,the protective cover 221 has a C-shaped cross section and an edgeenclosing cavity 2212. The two hinging edges 11 of the case bodies 10are received within the enclosing cavity 2212 when the axis shafts areengaged with the socket holders respectively.

As can be seen, the axis shafts 222 now connects the two case bodieswith the hinge connector 22 in a hidden manner, not only when thecontainer is in a folded position, but also when the container is in anunfolded position. As a result, the C-shaped cross section of theprotective cover 221 further reinforces the weakest portion of anycontainers, the hinges.

It is worth mentioning that because of the C-shaped cross section of theprotective cover 221, the details of the hinge connector, as well as thelongitudinal hinging edge 11 of the case bodies are all hidden,maintaining the appearance of the container to be pleasant. As oppose tocontainers with conventional hinges, where all the details of the hingescan be clearly seen when such containers are in their unfolded position,no inner lining is required for the present invention in order to hidethe details of the hinges.

Referring to FIG. 6 of the drawings, in order to provide containers withdifferent display properties, the present invention further comprises anangle retention arrangement 30, which comprises a plurality of firstgears 31 provided at the socket holders 21 respectively and a pluralityof second gears 32 formed at the hinge connector 22. The second gears 32rotatably engage with the first gears 31 respectively.

By adjusting area on the socket holders 21 and the hinge connector 22 tohave first gears 31 and second gears 32 respectively, the pivot anglebetween the two case bodies 10 can be limited. Hence, the smaller thearea of the socket holders 21 and the hinge connector 22, the smallerthe largest pivot angle between the two case bodies 10.

Furthermore, the tightness between the two case bodies 10 are alsocontrolled by the first gears 31 and the second gears 32, such that ifthe first gears 31 engage with the second gears 32 more fittingly, thetwo case bodies 10 will rotate around the two axis shafts 222 in a moretightened manner, allowing the container to be designed to suitdifferent purposes.

Referring to FIG. 3 of the drawings, according to the preferredembodiment, the second gears 32 of the angle retention arrangement 30comprises at least a pair of gear members 321 rotatably mounted on aninner side 2213 of the protective cover 221 to frictionally engage withthe first gears 31 at the socket holders respectively.

Furthermore, the gear members 321 are rotatably engaged with each other.By having the gear member 321 engaged with each other, a user can unfoldthe case bodies with ease, since as soon as one of the gear members 321rotates, the other gear member 321 will also rotate. As a result, theuser can unfold the case bodies with less energy.

In addition, in order to ensure that the gears can engage together, eachof said first gears 31 comprises a plurality of engaging teeth 311spacedly and integrally formed on an outer surface 23 of said respectivesocket holder 20 to frictionally engage with said respective second gear32.

The angle retention arrangement 30 not only provides assistance to thefolding and unfolding motion of the case bodies 10, it also has aguiding effect for the two case bodies 10 to fold and unfold, such thatthe two case bodies 10 will always fold and unfold in the manner set bythe first gears 31 and second gears 32.

As a result, the case bodies 10 always rotate along axes that are withinthe container, such that the case bodies 10 will always match with eachother, avoiding the misalignment problem of a conventional container,which could easily affect the appearance, as well as functionality, anddurability of the container.

When incorporated with a lock, the security of the present invention isfurther enhanced. The reason is that the lock not only locks and securesthe content placed within the container, the lock also locks up theinternal hinge arrangement 20, making destroying the connection betweenthe two case bodies difficult.

As a result, the number of ways in which unauthorized persons can openup the container is reduced. Conventionally, a safe can be pried openthrough the hinge as well as the lock. But since the case bodies 10 ofthe present invention are connected internally, not externally, theunauthorized user cannot reach the internal hinge arrangement 20 anddestroy the container through the hinge. Hence, such unauthorized userscan only work on the lock in order to open up the safe. It means thatsafe manufactures can now focus on choosing the most durable locks inorder to manufacture a thief-prove safe.

One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of thepresent invention as shown in the drawings and described above isexemplary only and not intended to be limiting.

It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have beenfully and effectively accomplished. It embodiments have been shown anddescribed for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structuralprinciples of the present invention and is subject to change withoutdeparture from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes allmodifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the followingclaims.

1. A container, comprising: two case bodies, each having a longitudinalhinging edge; and an internal hinge arrangement, which comprises: twosocket holders formed on said two hinging edges of said case bodiesrespectively; and a hinge connector comprising a protective covercovering along said two hinging edges of said case bodies and two axisshafts spacedly extended along longitudinal edges of said protectivecover, wherein said two axis shafts are rotatably inserted into saidsocket holders to form two pivot axles along said hinging edges of saidcase bodies respectively so as to pivotally connect said two casebodies.
 2. The container, as recited in claim 1, wherein each of saidsocket holders comprises two tubular sockets integrally formed at twoside ends of each of said hinging edges respectively, wherein two endportions of each of said axis shafts are slidably inserted into said tworespective tubular sockets to form said pivot axle along said respectivehinging edge of said case body.
 3. The container, as recited in claim 1,wherein each of said axis shafts comprises a tubular sleeve extendedalong said longitudinal edge of said protective cover to coaxially alignwith said socket holders and an elongated shaft slidably extended tosaid socket holder through said tubular sleeve so as to pivotallyconnect said protective cover with said respective case body.
 4. Thecontainer, as recited in claim 2, wherein each of said axis shaftscomprises a tubular sleeve extended along said longitudinal edge of saidprotective cover to coaxially align with said socket holders and anelongated shaft slidably extended to said socket holder through saidtubular sleeve so as to pivotally connect said protective cover withsaid respective case body.
 5. The container, as recited in claim 1,wherein said protective cover has a C-shaped cross section and an edgeenclosing cavity to receive said two hinging edges of said case bodiestherein when said axis shafts are engaged with said socket holdersrespectively so as to protect said two pivot axles in said edge hidingcavity in a hidden manner.
 6. The container, as recited in claim 2,wherein said protective cover has a C-shaped cross section and an edgeenclosing cavity to receive said two hinging edges of said case bodiestherein when said axis shafts are engaged with said socket holdersrespectively so as to protect said two pivot axles in said edge hidingcavity in a hidden manner.
 7. The container, as recited in claim 4,wherein said protective cover has a C-shaped cross section and an edgeenclosing cavity to receive said two hinging edges of said case bodiestherein when said axis shafts are engaged with said socket holdersrespectively so as to protect said two pivot axles in said edge hidingcavity in a hidden manner.
 8. The container, as recited as in claim 1,further comprising an angle retention arrangement which comprises aplurality of first gears provided at said socket holders respectivelyand a plurality of second gears formed at said hinge connector torotatably engage with said first gears respectively so as to selectivelyretain a pivot angle between said two case bodies.
 9. The container, asrecited as in claim 4, further comprising an angle retention arrangementwhich comprises a plurality of first gears provided at said socketholders respectively and a plurality of second gears formed at saidhinge connector to rotatably engage with said first gears respectivelyso as to selectively retain a pivot angle between said two case bodies.10. The container, as recited as in claim 7, further comprising an angleretention arrangement which comprises a plurality of first gearsprovided at said socket holders respectively and a plurality of secondgears formed at said hinge connector to rotatably engage with said firstgears respectively so as to selectively retain a pivot angle betweensaid two case bodies.
 11. The container, as recited in claim 8, whereinsaid second gears comprises at least a pair of gear members rotatablymounted on an inner side of said protective cover to frictionally engagewith said first gears at said socket holders respectively.
 12. Thecontainer, as recited in claim 9, wherein said second gears comprises atleast a pair of gear members rotatably mounted on an inner side of saidprotective cover to frictionally engage with said first gears at saidsocket holders respectively.
 13. The container, as recited in claim 10,wherein said second gears comprises at least a pair of gear membersrotatably mounted on an inner side of said protective cover tofrictionally engage with said first gears at said socket holdersrespectively.
 14. The container, as recited in claim 11, wherein saidgear members are rotatably engaged with each other such that said firstgears are engaged with each other through said gear members.
 15. Thecontainer, as recited in claim 12, wherein said gear members arerotatably engaged with each other such that said first gears are engagedwith each other through said gear members.
 16. The container, as recitedin claim 13, wherein said gear members are rotatably engaged with eachother such that said first gears are engaged with each other throughsaid gear members.
 17. The container, as recited in claim 8, whereineach of said first gears comprises a plurality of engaging teethspacedly and integrally formed on an outer surface of said respectivesocket holder to frictionally engage with said respective second gear.18. The container, as recited in claim 11, wherein each of said firstgears comprises a plurality of engaging teeth spacedly and integrallyformed on an outer surface of said respective socket holder tofrictionally engage with said respective second gear.
 19. The container,as recited in claim 13, wherein each of said first gears comprises aplurality of engaging teeth spacedly and integrally formed on an outersurface of said respective socket holder to frictionally engage withsaid respective second gear.
 20. The container, as recited in claim 16,wherein each of said first gears comprises a plurality of engaging teethspacedly and integrally formed on an outer surface of said respectivesocket holder to frictionally engage with said respective second gear.